Creativity Counts Update

The bad news for the creative sector in the March 2 provincial budget was followed on March 8 with an announcement of further massive funding cuts in funding to arts groups through community gaming grants.

Creativity Counts is the Alliance for Arts and Culture’s advocacy campaign for the return of provincial arts funding to 2008 / 2009 levels and the creation of a comprehensive and sustainable arts funding policy for British Columbia.

Our goal is to provide arts organizations, individual artists, and patrons and supporters with ideas and tools to work towards these goals.

The Alliance for Arts and Culture is now in the process of recreating the Creativity Counts advocacy toolkit and will be announcing an update to this site shortly.

In the meantime, we thank everyone for their support and participation over the past few months. We look forward to working together with all of you throughout British Columbia in the weeks and months to come to continue delivering the message that Creativity Counts.

Reality Check: Arts Funding Cut By BC Budget

“Arts funding was not restored to 2008/2009 levels in yesterday’s budget, despite a unanimous recommendation by the government’s Standing Committee on Finance”, according to Alliance for Arts and Culture executive director Amir Ali Alibhai.

“In fact what we have seen are further cuts to core funding” said Mr. Alibhai, “for a total loss of 32.4 per cent from funding levels in 2008/09.”

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Here are the basic facts from the March 2 budget:

FACT: The BC Arts Council has been cut 53 per cent from 2008/09.This is funding used to provide core support for the creation of cultural experiences like those that thrilled audiences here and world-wide during the 2010 Olympics.

FACT: BC Gaming Commission contributions to the arts have been cut 58 per cent from 2008/09.This is funding used to make possible community access to the arts and culture through free public festivals and events.

FACT: A $10 million annual supplementary fund has been created, but we do not know how the funds will be administered or distributed.

FACT: Interest from the $150 million BC Arts and Culture Endowment remains the same.

FACT: The new budget includes $12 million for the BC Royal Museum. This support has remained the same for several years and is essentailly a transfer to a crown corporation; this has not traditionally been counted as part of the investment made through grants to the arts and cultural sector.

FACT: Total government investment in culture, including the newly announced $10 million annual supplementary fund, has been reduced by 32.4 per cent from the 2008/09 budget.

These numbers do not include cuts from other government sources to creative sector disciplines such as publishing, Music BC and others.

These two charts, Chart 1 from the government and Chart 2 from the Alliance, demonstrate the reality. You can see that the government numbers have been inflated by the addition of the $12 million for the Royal BC Museum.

“To win its bid for the 2010 Olympics, the BC government boasted about the British Columbia’s vibrant arts and culture scene, claiming that culture was the ’second pillar’ of the Games. “We were hoping the government would continue to consider culture an important pillar of our society,” continued Mr. Alibhai.

“We look forward to working with the government in ensuring that the $10 million annual supplementary fund they have created is used to best effect,” Mr. Alibhai concluded. “And we shall continue to press for full restoration of arts funding to the levels the Finance Committee agreed were necessary.”

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Media Contact:
Kevin Dale McKeown
Director of Communications
Alliance for Arts and Culture

o: 604.681.3535 (215)
c: 604.345.2548
e: communications@allianceforarts.com

Arts Community Leaders Disappointed by Budget

“Premier Ignored MLAs and His Own Finance Committee”

VICTORIA: Emerging from today’s budget lockup at the BC Legislature, Alliance for Arts and Culture executive director Amir Ali Alibhai, Victoria Symphony executive director Mitchell Krieger, and ProArt Alliance of Greater Victoria coordinator Scott Walker expressed disappointment at the budget’s half-hearted support for the arts in British Columbia.

“Premier Gordon Campbell and Finance Minister Colin Hansen seem to have largely disregarded the recommendations of their own Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services and continue to ignore the importance of the creative sector ” said Mr. Alibhai.

“The Cultural Olympiad was a significant achievement for Canadian artists” Mr. Krieger added. “With this budget, however, it appears that what we have recently experienced was only a moment in time, as support for the arts continues to fall to record levels.”

“Our athletes’ achievements at the Olympics – and the phenomenal success of the Cultural Olympiad – have been a brilliant demonstration of what investing in talent does – for the individuals involved and for Canadian national pride. What an incredible return on investment” said Mr. Walker.

“The stunning spectacle of people convening in the city streets night after night – it was the musicians, artists, and street performers who made that experience work” noted Mr. Alibhai. “Art was the glue that held the Olympic experience in place for locals and visitors alike. From the major stages of the theatres and stadiums to the clubs and pubs and street corners, entertainers stepped up to the plate to ensure that the athletes and their fans had the experience of a lifetime.

“We’ve shown what we can do, and it is truly disappointing that this budget demonstrates that our government does not understand this fundamental equation.”

At first glance, the 2010/11 Budget for arts and culture does appear to fully restore funding to 2008/09 levels, as recommended by the Standing Committee.

On further exploration, however, the arts community spokesmen noted that funding for the Royal BC Museum ($12.1M) is included in the figures presented this year; previously it has not been included. There is also a “mystery” $10M allocation, which is currently not fully defined nor allocated to any existing funding organization, such as the BC Arts Council.

“We would welcome the opportunity to work with the government to make the most effective use of this investment,” said Mr. Krieger.

The following table attempts to compare “apples to apples” and gives a summary of our interpretation of the 2010 Budget. Gaming funds for arts and cultural allocations as well as funding for BC Arts Council grants are significantly lower than in 2008/09.

“Why not just restore BC Arts Council to the $19M level of 2008/09″ asked Mr. Alibhai. “Where has the $7M cut from Gaming funds to the Arts and Culture gone?”

To win its bid for the 2010 Olympics, the BC government boasted about the British Columbia’s vibrant arts and culture scene, claiming that culture was the “second pillar” of the Games. “We were hoping the government would continue to consider culture an important pillar of our society, ” the arts community spokespersons agreed.

“The economic, social, health and educational benefits to our communities created by investing in arts and culture, by all levels of government, are well documented” stated Mr. Walker.

“Public funding for the arts is the research and development of cultural spending”, added Mr. Alibhai, “providing the initial investment costs that allow artists and their organizations to begin their work, and then leverages additional private support which allows the work to develop. This government seems unwilling to strengthen that foundation, denying all British Columbians the well known benefits of a healthy creative sector.”

“Artists, arts organizations, community partners, corporate sponsors and our audiences throughout will respond to this budget in a forceful manner” predicted Mr. Alibhai.

“We’ve shown the world what BC artists can do,” concluded Mr. Walker. “What we were hoping for was that the government would learn from the past two weeks and continue to invest in the Arts. When all those visitors return – as the government tells us they will – what they’ll find with this budget is a lot of closed doors and cancelled arts programs.”

Petition to Reinstate All Charitable Gaming Grants in British Columbia

PLEASE SIGN THIS PETITION AND CIRCULATE TO YOUR CONTACTS ACROSS THE PROVINCE.

All Residents of British Columbia :

Petition to Reinstate All Charitable Gaming Grants in British Columbia

Petition Summary and Background

Provincial Cuts to Charitable Gaming Grants for 2009-2010

To Premier Gordon Campbell, Minister Rich Coleman and the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia: We the undersigned are deeply concerned with the cuts to Gaming Grants in the province of British Columbia and how it will affect our Communities.

This is part of the preamble to an online petition that has been instituted on behalf of all Organizations affected by the budget cuts to the gaming grants of 2009 – 2010. It is our hope that when the budget is tabled in March after the Olympics we will not be targeted again.

Our hope is that each Association will forward the petition link to each of its members with a request that they forward the link to their members and supporters as well.

Please follow the link below to review the complete petition and to add your support. Then please pass this link onward to your contacts province-wide.

Thank you,

Geraldine Foster, Secretary

Bingo Council of British Columbia

Gordon Campbell is poised to gut B.C.’s funding for the arts

Yesterday, Prime Minister Stephen Harper visited Victoria to address the non-prorogued BC Legislative Assembly. While there, you’d think he might have pulled BC Premier Gordon Campbell aside and told him the story of how Harper’s Conservatives lost their majority, in no small part, thanks to their short-sighted decision in the last election to gut funding for the arts.

Harper has somewhat learned his lesson; the feds have restored much of the funding or increased it in other areas, and Canadian Heritage minister James Moore has found the arts religion. Sadly, though, Campbell must not read the news, as his BC “Liberal” government is poised to table massive cuts of 90 per cent to arts funding in the next provincial funding that would decimate BC’s vibrant arts community.

The cuts actually began last fall, when citing the economic downturn the province moved to slash arts funding by 90 per cent over two years. In the face of public blowback, some of the funding was restored with gaming money, but the service plan going forward still shows 90 per cent cuts so it seems the cuts will be restored in the next budget. The cuts will take core BC provincial arts funding from $19.5 million in 2008/09 all the way down to just $2.25 million in 2010/11, according to the service plan.

While $20 million may not seem like a lot of money in government terms (and BC was already one of the lowest per capita arts spenders in the country), the cuts are devastating for BC arts groups. For them, government funding is a huge multiplier that allows them to leverage private sector donations. These groups also operate on very thin margins as it is; cutting government funding can be a death knell.

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The Harper government, Barrack Obama, Dalton McGuinty in Ontario, Jean Charest in Quebec – they’ve all actually increased arts funding as part of their economic stimulus packages. BC, sadly, appears to be the odd-province out unless Campbell listens to the growing chorus, including much of his caucus, and restores this arts funding in the next budget.

There is still time though to send a message to Campbell (premier@gov.bc.ca) and finance minister Colin Hansen (colin.hansen.mla@leg.bc.ca) that they should change course and restore arts funding in the upcoming provincial budget.

If you want to know how you can get involved, check out the Facebook group: BC Hearts the Arts, and you can also visit Alliance for Arts and Culture, a Vancouver-based organization helping to rally support for overturning the cuts. Also check out Creativity Counts, a blogsite following the advocacy campaign.

Today, BC is welcoming the world for the Olympics. The arts will be a big part of the opening ceremonies tonight, and the cultural olympiad will run parallel to the sporting events. It would be a shame if the Olympic legacy was tarnished by short-sighted decisions.

Jeff Jedras, A BCer in Toronto

The importance of creativity

By Max Wyman, Vancouver Sun
February 3, 2010

Re: Games’ cultural legacy will disappear if arts funding cuts continue, Jan. 29

Bravo to Miro Cernetig for bringing the economic case for arts and culture funding to the attention of The Sun’s readers.

The social benefits of involvement with arts and culture are well documented: They help build community spirit and inter-cultural understanding, improve individual health and even contribute to crime reduction. As Vancouver Symphony Orchestra music director Bramwell Tovey told Cernetig, “Arts funding is not a grant. It’s an investment.” We are also coming to realize what a significant contribution arts and culture make to education. A worldwide movement is under way, at UNESCO and elsewhere, to relocate the arts and creative activity at the heart of the educational curriculum. A curriculum that promotes the use of the imagination -right-brain thinking -alongside the left-brain “basics” not only helps develop the fully rounded individual but prepares learners for a future that will depend as much on ingenuity and the imagination as on physical resources. Studies such as those undertaken by Simon Fraser University’s Imaginative Education Research Group, a world leader in new thinking about ways to teach, show that when students’ imaginations are engaged, educational performance inevitably improves.

Max Wyman

Past president,

Canadian Commission for UNESCO,

Lions Bay

© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun

Games’ cultural legacy will disappear if arts funding cuts continue

By Miro Cernetig, Vancouver Sun
January 29, 2010

It’s good news Bramwell Tovey will stay another five years conducting the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. The maestro took over a faltering orchestra, steered it to a Grammy, a critically acclaimed tour through China and proved classical music has a place in Vancouver’s cultural life.

Similarly positive is the success of the Cultural Olympiad, the dozens of cultural events surrounding the 2010 Olympics.

Some its notable events are the upcoming Blue Dragon by Robert Lepage, the Vancouver Opera’s Canadian premier of Nixon in China and dozens of others performances making the Olympics about more than gold medals.

It’s all planting the seeds for a cultural legacy. But will it all evaporate after the Games leave town?

Possibly so.

As most people know, when the world economy hit the rocks last year, the provincial government took the scalpel to arts funding, cutting some grants by 90 per cent. The bean counters in Victoria deemed the deep cuts a fast way to lighten the deficit.

At the moment, the bureaucrats in finance seem to be continuing with that strategy. The expectation — and fear — in the B.C. arts community is the next provincial budget, due out shortly after the Olympics is over, will continue with the $19 million in cuts to arts funding, hitting the slim operating budgets of galleries, theatre groups and orchestras from Victoria to Dawson Creek, and everywhere in between. It’s a serious policy error on both political and economic grounds.

Read the entire article here.

A Letter to the Premier from the Metro Vancouver Board

December 30, 2009

The Honourable Gordon Campbell
Premier of British Columbia
PO Box 9041 Stn Prov Govt
Victoria, BC V8W 9E1

Dear Premier Campbell:

Re: Provincial Cutbacks to Cultural Services

At its meeting of October 30, 2009, the Metro Vancouver Board expressed concern over arts funding levels in British Columbia. As a result, I write on behalf of the Board Members to communicate their uneasiness at the proposed provincial cutbacks to cultural services and in particular cultural funding grants.

I am sure we all agree that culture is a crucial component of our communities. Culture animates our neighbourhoods and provides opportunities for people of all ethnic and social backgrounds to share and interact. Cultural producers contribute to our economy by generating the new ideas and practices that creative enterprises incorporate in order to produce content and other
competitive products.

Culture also contributes to the economic viability and sustainability of our communities and the Directors of the Board of Metro Vancouver are concerned that the cuts, which are proposed by the Province, could have serious economic and social impacts affecting each and every municipality.

I am informed that in 2006, the total operating revenue for the performing arts in Canada encompassing theatre, dance, music and opera reached $1.2 billion. Of that amount, 42% was generated by ticket sales to 12.9 million audience members who attended performing arts events.

I am also told that the cultural sector as a whole is estimated to contribute $84.6 billion to Canada’s GDP. The Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Arts’ website notes that the province makes its cultural investment back in direct taxes at a rate of 138%. In addition, the Province of BC estimates that for every dollar invested in the arts, the arts organizations in turn generate $1.36 in economic activity.

The Arts and Culture Division of the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and the Arts is authorized to develop and administer government policies and programs that support a vital and sustainable arts and culture sector. The Board members of Metro Vancouver are concerned that the proposed cuts will stifle continued support for all art forms.

On November 13, 2009, the Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services recommended that arts funding be restored to 2008-09 levels in British Columbia. We trust that you will consider this request as we urge the government to adopt the recommendations.

Yours truly,

Original signed by:
Lois E. Jackson
Chair, Metro Vancouver Board

(see Alliance site for original letter)

Faces of the Arts in BC

Several BC communities have shown their support for the arts with these wonderful photo messages. The Face of the Arts idea began in Golden, BC this fall. We’re posting these photos and their instructions on how to run your own Face of the Arts photo shoot below.

Golden BC kicks off Face of the Arts

The idea was picked up again on Gabriola Island …

Gabriola Island residents show their support

Rebecca Coleman has also contributed an excellent blog piece on Art of the Business that shows how the cuts have already had a direct impact on several organizations.

These photos were taken by The Social Utilities at the Wrecking Ball on November 23rd at the Vogue in Vancouver.

The Social Utilities are: Caroline Liffman, Tanya Podlozniuk, Gina Readman, Aliya Griffin, Caroline Sniatynski and Adrienne Wong.

Take a look at the whole series in this slideshow.

Here is a call-to-action from the Kicking Horse Culture advocacy page about how you can put a face to the arts in your community with this very effective photo initiative:

What you can do:

Invite to communities and arts orgs all around the province:

All you need is a white board and a digital camera and a Flickr account via Yahoo (it’s free).

1. Take the photos at your events. Our audience loved it!

2. Export the images from your camera into your photo software program… we’re using iPhoto.

3. iPhoto links directly to Flickr. With other software, just follow Flickr’s FAQ to upload.

4. That’s it!

May we suggest thay you name your Flickr account “Face of the arts in (your town name here) BC” That way, when one does a search in Flickr, it will be very evident how many communities have joined in.

Utilize all the tools available to Restore Arts Funding Now

There are several ways for you to lend your support to the arts in BC. Here is one more that is gathering a lot of momentum. Please help circulate this petition, and make sure to use our own easy-to-use webform to Speak Out Against BC Arts Cuts:

Arts Victoria’s Petition in Support of the Arts here.

This petition will be presented to the Legislature when the house resumes sitting in February. As budget decisions will be made between now and then, we will be making interim reports on the progress of the petition to media, and are asking that completed sheets be returned by December 14, January 14 and February 7.